The Political Economy of New Regionalisms in the Pacific Rim by Jose Briceno Ruiz & Philippe A A de Lombaerde

Author:Jose Briceno Ruiz & Philippe A A de Lombaerde [Ruiz, Jose Briceno & Lombaerde, Philippe A A de]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780429954634
Goodreads: 45280546
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2019-08-28T00:00:00+00:00

Figure 6.3 Mexico’s trade balance with TPP prospective members, 1993–2014 (1000 USD)

Source: Secretaria de Economía.

Too far from Southeast Asia: Mexico’s failed participation in ASEAN

During the past quarter-century or so, Mexico’s relations with ASEAN have had incremental approaches that, in the end, have not led to a systematic policy of engagement. The global attention towards the Pacific Rim, the increased role of Mexico in multilateral forums and the refocusing of its diplomatic and trade relations have led to the gradual and intermittent approximations of ASEAN’s member states. The administrations of Carlos Salinas, Ernesto Zedillo, Vicente Fox and Felipe Calderón tried to strengthen links with Southeast Asian countries. Of the 19 treaties signed between Mexico and the states in this region in 1888–2007, 15 of them were signed after 1989 (Haro et al., 2011, 465).

Unlike NAFTA, APEC or TPP, Mexico did not look for a FTA with the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA); instead, it applied to become a dialogue partner in the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), which deals with security issues. The request was rejected twice, during the administrations of Ernesto Zedillo (1994–2000) and Vicente Fox (2000–2006). The negative response of ASEAN is perhaps the most pointed expression of the prevailing distance between Mexico and Southeast Asian nations.1 The cold response from Southeast Asian nations should not be surprising in light of their low priority in Mexico’s overall foreign policy and the peripheral nature of Mexico in this region’s affairs.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.